Albert Pujols battling through leg issues

Angels first basemen Albert Pujols is still recovering from leg injury, will continue to be limited at first as Angels continue to chase A's for final playoff spot.

Angels vs. Mariners final score: Halos can't close Wild Card gap after 9-4 loss

The Los Angeles Angels were smelling blood in the water on Thursday afternoon. The Oakland Athletics had already lost their game against the Texas Rangers and the Halos were going for a sweep of the Seattle Mariners at the Big A. Unfortunately, the Angels were unable to close the gap behind the A's for the second Wild Card spot to one game, as they were defeated 9-4 by the Mariners.

Vernon Wells hit an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning to give the Angels an early lead. In the top of the fourth, John Jaso hit a two-run homer to put the Mariners on top, 2-1. Alberto Callaspo hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to tie things up, 2-2, but Seattle would reclaim the lead in the top of the fifth when Casper Wells scored on a Franklin Gutierrez groundout.

The Mariners finally broke through in the top of the seventh with a big four-run inning. Garrett Richards issued a bases-loaded walk to Trayvon Robinson and gave up a single to Kyle Seager that scored Wells and made it 5-2 Mariners. Seattle was not finished in the inning, as Jesus Montero lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Dustin Ackley and John Jaso drove in Robinson with a double.

Howie Kendrick roped a two-out, two-run double down the left field line off of Josh Kinney in the bottom of the eighth inning to bring the Angels to within three runs of the lead. The Mariners answered back in the top of the ninth, however, as Dustin Ackley scored on a sacrifice bunt and throwing error by LaTroy Hawkins and Montero hit an RBI double to push the Seattle lead back out to 9-4.

Mariners vs. Angels: Game time, tv schedule and more

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will host the Seattle Mariners in what might be their final home game of the 2012 season. The Angels currently sit two games behind the Oakland A's in the American League wild card race, they'll be hoping to close that margin to one before hitting the road to face the Rangers and Mariners as they close out the regular season.

The Angels will be sending Dan Haren to the mound on Thursday afternoon as they look to win their 6th straight game. Haren has compiled a 12-11 record in 2012 with a disappointing 4.35 ERA. He has been on a roll of late though, sporting a 2.45 ERA over his last six starts.

Seattle will counter with rookie Hisashi Iwakuma as they hope to play spoiler for their divisional foe. Iwakuma is 7-5 with a 3.41 ERA in his first season in Major League Baseball.

The first pitch is scheduled for 12:35 p.m. PT from Anaheim. Local television coverage can be found on FSW, while the local radio broadcast will be carried by KLAA 830.

Where to distribute the blame as the 2012 Angels season winds down

The Angels' 2012 season isn't over yet, but will be viewed as a major disappointment if the Halos fail to capture a Wild Card spot. Who will end up shouldering the blame for an underwhelming year?

Angels vs. Mariners final score: Halos come back late, walk off with 4-3 win

The Los Angeles and the Seattle Mariners met up once again on Wednesday night at the Big A. It was another close game, but the Halos were able to come back late and pick up a walk-off win to stay alive in the Wild Card race. The 4-3 victory was their fifth straight win.

The Angels opened up the scoring in the bottom of the second inning on a two-run double by Erick Aybar. The Mariners tied things up in the top of the third on an RBI single from Brendan Ryan and a sacrifice fly from Franklin Gutierrez.

Justin Smoak hit his third home run in two days in the fourth inning to put the Mariners on top, 3-2. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Torii Hunter once again came through in the clutch and further added to the argument that he should be re-signed. Hunter flipped a flare into right field with two outs to score Peter Bourjos and tie the game.

Maicer Izturis led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to right. A wild pitch by Stephen Pryor allowed Izturis to take second base and Bourjos bunted him over to third. The Mariners intentionally walked Mike Trout, once again leaving it up to Torii. Hunter stayed white-hot in the clutch, roping another single to right field to give the Halos the walk-off win.

C.J. Wilson came close to a quality start, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks in 5.1 innings.

Angels vs. Mariners final score: Halos pitchers strike out 20 in important win

The Los Angeles Angels opened a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night with a 5-4 win to keep pace in the hunt for a Wild Card berth.

The Halos struck first, plating two quick runs in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single from Albert Pujols and a sacrifice fly from Alberto Callaspo.

The Mariners did not get on the board until the top of the fourth inning, when Justin Smoak hit a solo home run. The Angels got another two runs in the bottom of the fifth as Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer to make it 4-1 and continue his red-hot streak down the stretch. Erick Aybar stretched the lead out to 5-1 in the sixth with a home run of his own.

Although Zack Greinke left the game in just the fifth inning due to a high pitch count, he struck out 13 Mariners batters and allowed just two walks. Although Greinke gave up seven hits, he held Seattle to one run on the Smoak home run.In all, the Los Angeles pitchers struck out a whopping 20 Seattle batters, besting Nolan Ryan's franchise record for most strikeouts in a single game.

The Mariners were once again able to cut the Halos' lead to one run in the top of the seventh as they scored three runs on an RBI double from Franklin Gutierrez and a two-run homer from Smoak. Smoak's two home runs in the game came from both sides of the plate.

Ernesto Frieri was able to pick up the save to seal the Angels win and keep their postseason hopes alive.

Angels vs. Mariners: Tuesday's starting lineups

The Los Angeles Angels will try to hang on to their slim American League Wild Card hopes, as the Seattle Mariners look to play the role of spoiler when the two teams open a three-game series on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

The Halos, who trail the Oakland Athletics by two games for the second AL Wild Card spot, are looking to win their fourth game in a row and their seventh game out of their last 10. The Mariners are coming off taking two of three games from the Texas Rangers in a weekend series.

The Angels will send right-hander Zack Greinke (14-5, 3.47) to the mound. Greinke has been stellar in his last five starts for the Halos, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.69 ERA.

Seattle will counter with rookie Erasmo Ramirez (1-2, 3.28). The right-hander is making his seventh start for the Mariners after posting a 6-3 and a 3.72 ERA in 15 starts for Triple-A Tacoma in 2012.

Los Angeles Angels (84-69)

1. Mike Trout (R) CF
2. Torii Hunter (R) RF
3. Albert Pujols (R) 1B
4. Kendrys Morales (S) DH
5. Alberto Callaspo (S) 3B
6. Erick Aybar (S) SS
7. Maicer Izturis (S) 2B
8. Mark Trumbo (R) LF
9. Chris Iannetta (R) C

Seattle Mariners (72-81)

1. Dustin Ackley (L) 2B
2. Franklin Gutierrez (R) CF
3. Kyle Seager (L) 3B
4. John Jaso (L) DH
5. Justin Smoak (S) 1B
6. Michael Saunders (L) RF
7. Miguel Olivo (R) C
8. Trayvon Robinson (S) LF
9. Brendan Ryan (R) SS

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PT, and the game will be televised on Fox Sports West. The radio broadcast can be heard on KLAA 830.

Angels Vs. Mariners Series Preview: TV Schedule, Probable Pitchers & More

The Angels are close to the top of the Wild Card standings. They'll try to pick up necessary wins against the Mariners at the Big A.